Back in February, Buckingham Palace screwed over a bunch of patronages in an effort to punish the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and make H&M look bad. Harry and Meghan understood that their royal patronages would be taken away by the palace at the end of the so-called “one year review.” H&M made it clear that they would love to keep their patronages but it was out of their hands. The Palace threw a huge tantrum about it and stripped them of their patronages suddenly, and those patronages weren’t even given any notice (and they were mad about it too). A lot of the focus was on Harry’s military patronages, and who would “get” them after Harry. William was said to want the Royal Marines position, but in the end, it doesn’t seem like William is taking over anything from Harry and Meghan. Probably because he’s so lazy and the patronages know he’s lazy and incompetent and they’re telling the Palace “please don’t make William our patron.” And so the Queen will give the Duchess of Cambridge the rugby positions:
As sporting rivalries go, competition between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is never far from the surface. William and Kate have been known to do battle on boats, the running track, cricket pitch and tennis court. Now competition in the Cambridge household is set to intensify, with Kate taking on patronage of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Rugby Football League (RFL).
The patronages, formerly held by the Duke of Sussex, are expected to be announced in the coming months, before the rugby league World Cup in October and November.
As patron, the Duchess is likely to champion the RFU’s “inner warrior” campaign, which aims to encourage more girls and women into the game.
Kate and William currently have their children Prince George, eight, Princess Charlotte, six, and Prince Louis, three, home for the summer holidays which they are understood to be spending in Norfolk. They are expected to travel to Scotland in the coming weeks to visit the Queen at Balmoral.
[From The Times & The Daily Express]
This is basically the only way Kate ever adds new patronages to her portfolio: she’s forced to become patron by Buckingham Palace. And while I know there are probably some legitimate reasons why William wouldn’t get these – he’s already president of the Football Association, for one – it is kind of bonkers that they’re giving the rugby organizations to Kate of all people and not the Future Future King. William is so lazy and he’s such a lightweight. Kate is too, but how bad is it that William just wanders around Norfolk, tending to rose bushes and doing f–k all?
It’s also a little bit funny that this is coming out following William’s absolutely terrible, undiplomatic and rude performance at the Euro final in July. He was an international laughing stock for his racist hypocrisy and his rudeness.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
“As patron, the Duchess is likely to champion the RFU’s ‘inner warrior’ campaign, which aims to encourage more girls and women into the game.”
I gotta tell you, I’m not holding my breath on this one.
Do hold your breath for more Diana cosplay though, because you all know that’s what will get.
At least with this patronage she’s got more Princess Diana outfits to add to her Pinterest “cosplay” board. More double breasted blazers with extra gold buttons on the top
If she *really* wants to cosplay Diana on the rugby front then she’ll have to have an affair with the team captain.
Jesus I forgot about Diana and Will Carling! The ultimate 90s scandal lol
@The Hench, that made me laugh. So true!
Carling denied an affair. If there was one he would have put it in his autobiography. Diana did not have an affair with him. Even Penny Junor did not accuse Diana of it. which speaks volumes.
Actually @Tessa, Carling is now backtracking on those strenuous denials and, at the time, whatever happened it was enough for his wife to leave him so I’m saying it’s still a cosplay avenue for Kate…
Diana was not named as co-respondent on court papers. He would look foolish if he even thought of backtracking. He would come across as an opportunist. Kate is going to cling to her marriage for all it’s worth. Carole would turn on her IMO if she ever made a move towards a rugby player. Kate can flirt harmlessly though. Kate would only IMO move on if William demanded a divorce and married someone else.
I agree with this. Kate will flirt a lot, like she did with Harry, but she will not cheat herself. She knows that William would use it against her despite his infidelities. It may be hypocritical but Kate played the submissive woman to get the job in the first place, she’s not going to change now.
Seriously, the cajones on this “reporter” to act as if Kate can “champion” ANY cause. She would have to remotely care, which she very clearly does not.
Poor rugby, to go from Prince Harry as a patron to Kate.
At least she and William didn’t get Harry’s Captain of the Royal Marines patronage. Thank God!
It extra painful since the rugby organization made it clear they wanted to keep Harry. Just goes to show that a royal patron serves the patron more than the patronage.
THIS!
I agree Becks, my thoughts exactly and my condolences to the rugby organization.
Saw a documentary on Royal Travel last night, There were clips of William in his early 20’s. William was rather handsome them but looked really terrible now,
🤭🤭🤭They can at least expect Keenness from her….
Those poor Rugby players 😅😁
Lots of guffawing laughter from Kate.
I read the headline and literally said out loud, “What the hell for?”
For real though. This seems like a bit of a step down for the rugby league if you ask me. To got from Harry to…..keen is kind of a let down.
She’ll probably fuck it up, but she was quite sporty in her youth. Maybe she’ll embrace the role. She’ll never compare to Harry though.
Probably just go to matches like she does for Wimbledon. These are established leagues. But whether she’ll do anything for the female players that’s another sorry.
I have a female cousin who is a professional ruby player in the UK. I have no idea how popular the women’s league really is.
Rugby union is the posh “Hooray Henry” sport in England (not in Wales), There are obviously exceptions but that’s the conventional wisdom. it’s probably the posher sport in Scotland and in Ireland. Traditionally state schools play football and private schools played rugger. There’s a theory that the upper tiers of the aristocracy prefer football so as to be seen as different from the arriviste rugby fans of the middle and upper classes. I don’t see there’s any surprise that a home counties gal like Kate and rugby would be a fit as with rugby and Harry. It’s more of a surprise that William embraced football so much. Conventional wisdom wise rugby league is a northern, English working class sport.
Eh, she’ll take the kids to games, that’s all. I’m guessing William was paranoid about taking over Harry’s patronages, as people would probably have things to say about it. I think they’re giving Kate something easy, something that doesn’t require much from her, something of less consequence, in the event that she will need to be replaced.
Just how is having Kate as a patron going to encourage grass roots rugby, that’s the little kids joining a team to play on Saturdays, or encourage girls to play? I’d like to see Kate getting out and getting involved in a game. Spoiler alert, she’ll get dirty and the hair will need to be tied back…
Yeap, sorry rugby.
Poor Kate, she’ll have to be “wheeled out” more now. She’s had too much workload from her little early buttons factory (or whatever the h-ll the stupid centre is called) and now they’re dropping this too. Now they’re time with the kids has really been thrown out of the window. (Poor things!)
Every time I hear about royals “championing girls and women” I only ever think about Meghan, who’s actually done more and not just say it. I never think of Kate. Is this just me?
Nope, not just you. Kate will need an extra 3 vacations a year because all this extra rugby business is hard work and blah blah blah , it’s all Megs fault because everything is.
Keen likes sporty things and being around hunky guys. Looks like a win for her! I’m guessing this will be her next “life work’s passion” or whatever the phrase is.
I know Mike tindall is not technically a working royal but wouldn’t it have made sense to make an exception and give him this? He would have been perfect for it.
Maybe he already has royal seating privileges.
Mike Tindall would have been perfect for this role. He’s played international and first class rugby and would know how important it is to have players joining a team at the grass roots and club level.
It’s not a done deal yet, it hasn’t been confirmed by the palace yet, so we can live in hope that a better patron can be found?
I honestly think princess anne would have even been a better patron but i think she’s already patron of the scottish rugby league.
He would have, and since he lives in royal property, he could have definitely done it. For the sport and for the monarchy because he lives rent free.
He lives rent-free on Anne’s private estate, not in a taxpayer-owned property.
They should have given this to someone else. She cant even handle the art patronages and wasn’t that her major?
Her major was stalking.
Too funny, Alexandria, I laughed so hard I snorted. You should warn people before you say something like that, ‘specially early in the morning when people are known to be holding hot liquids.
Alexandria. This is gold. Thank you
😂😂😂😂
I found an interesting article saying that she also was into “mooning ” while at Marlborough but it’s the daily mail so..
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3548157/How-sexy-Kate-Middleton-flashed-nude-bum-male-students-passed-second-story-dorm-window-90-TIMES-earned-moniker-Kate-Middlebum-revealed-new-book.html
Poor patronages. Harry should have remained their patron
How do you fight the childish spite ingrained in both his brother and father? A spitefulness that is a family trademark. The RF is despicable in that they don’t care who they hurt inadvertently, as long as they can harm their target.
I am sure Harry has moved on. He has better things to do than being their patron.
William is already Patron of Welsh Rugby so understandable why he didn’t get the RFU patronage, not sure about the RFL. But I think the main reason why BP handed these patronages to Kate is to build up the England vs Wales rivalry narrative between the Cambridges that was supposed to happen between William and Harry.
1. Why would the tabloids try to put out a narrative that suggests rivalry between the Cambs when they’ve tried their hardest to rewrite history and sell us their marriage as the ultimate love story.
2. Seeing as the UK is currently fighting to keep the union together letting a England vs Wales narrative fly really isn’t smart.
A friendly rivalry. The first line of the piece talks about their competitiveness. The press loves when William and Kate competes against each other at engagements. When Wales plays England at Rugby matches, the press will be playing up the Cambridge angle with them being patrons of opposing team.
IMO while this lede hides behind the veneer of friendly competition in sport, it was 100% intentionally shady towards the Cambridges, nothing friendly about it. “Competition never far from the surface,” “doing battle” – the tabloids always speak in code, and if they wanted to highlight Wales v England then they would have very specifically said that. Instead, they opted to remind the reader of competition and rivalry between Will and Kate.
Whether it’s just the normal sh*tstirring or it’s a more pointed dig remains to be seen, but after the competing headlines we saw last month and the failed press power play on Kate’s part (trying to muscle her way into the statue unveiling), it does seem as though they’re reminding us that rather than being a team, the Cambridges are almost always competing with one another, not working together.
@sunday. Yeah i noticed that too. I thought it was odd. In fact that whole marriage is odd and how they’ve managed to stay together for 20 years is truly a mystery.
Tindal would have been a better choice.
For sure, but Charliese would nevahhhhh.
I have to laugh that this is even considered a patronage. I’d love for my attendance at professional sports events to be called “work.” What a joke.
To be honest, the same was true for H as well….why would attending a sporting event considered “work”? why do Rugby or Soccer require royal patrons? those leagues exit all over the world with no patron! jeez….the scheme, the scheme, the scheme….LOL
It is nit my money, so none of my business
@VS, Harry did a lot of fundraising for the organization(s) though, he just didn’t attend matches and go sit home or go shopping after. There is a reason why they wanted to keep him and have no one else replace him. Same with all their other patronages (Sussexes’), they fundraise hard for them and that’s why they love them. Harry and/or Meghan’s patronages that didn’t come from the crown were rejoicing just for that fact because then the crown wouldn’t take their patron away from them. There is a reason why the Sussexes were very well loved by their patronages.
It has been reported that if Harry hadn’t fundraised hard for the IG, they too would have wound down very long ago, same with Endeavor funds etc. The Sussexes are very effective when it comes to their patronages. Kate though? Not so much as she has even needed to be replaced or just her patronages closed down due to lack of funds to keep their doors open. 😔
Yes, this was going to be my question, too. Maybe I don’t understand because I’m not British. Why do popular and established sports need royal patronage? The RF has over 3,000 patronages, how can a handful of royals add any value to all of them? And with Charles wanting to shrink the number of working royals, how will that be any better?
@Eurydice, the idea behind a royal patron (or any patron for that matter) is raising awareness and then fundraise for the organization. That’s the bottom line. Increased visibility related to the person who is their face (patron) and then that person fundraising. That’s why Prince and Princess Harry are well loved by their patronages. Even their fans have raised hundreds of thousands(I guess now we can safely say they’ve raised millions) of dollars in support of the Sussex related patronages etc. I honestly don’t know how the other royals have been effective for their patronages, so I will not speak for them. But IIRC, it was reported that the patronage that replaced Kate with Ed Sheeran (I believe it was EACH) did so because Kate kept bailing on them and was not effective in the fundraising, whereas Ed was more beneficial to them in that regard.
This patronage makes no sense, but oh well. It’s just another thing for Keen to fail miserably at and all the more reasons why she will never be fit for her future Karen Kween role.
correct me if i’m wrong, but i don’t think the patronage requires much, just occasional attendance at games which is what she’ll do once in a while. I do feel bad for the organization that wanted to keep Harry and wasn’t even told beforehand that he’d lose the position.
Someone mentioned above that Harry did a lot of fundraising for the org. I can’t see Kate putting in the same effort S808, can you?
definitely not! i feel really bad for the organizations that will be getting new patrons. h&m name alone brought in loads of publicity and that’s not even counting the work they did. the rugby org specifically said they wanted to keep harry too….sigh.
She’ll probably do a few ‘starter’ events for them and then nothing for several years (EACH Hospice – 8 years between her engagements with them which was highlighted by someone from the charity at her last event).
When was her last event for the RAF and Scouts? IIRC she only did one event for that RAF patronage that she took over from Philip.
I think the last event for scouts was when we got that awesome photo of her trying to smile or look astonished and her mouth is open looking really bizarre.
Isn’t that every photo she takes???
The next time GB plays in the Rugby World Cup the winning team will see another Euro 2020 scenario. The winner will dedicate their victory to Meghan: “Meghan One Of Us.” Ultimate insult to Kate. Wow.
So Rugby prefers its patron to show up every 8 years or so? Seriously this woman won’t do anything for them because she does nothing.
Is she really that into Rugby? I know she’s sporty but it seems her specific interests are the gym, tennis and sailing. Not rugby. But it’s an easy patronage for Kate I suppose (just turn up to the games and look interested, nobody is going to ask more from her) and there aren’t many working royals to go around so somebody had to take it.
Thank you for covering this. I rarely comment, but this is a complete and total farce. How is this even possible?
No one cares. Just more make believe sh*t to pacify a gullible population. Why not champion a No Child Goes Hungry campaign and harvest slightly bruised foods for distribution to needy families. I care enough to comment, but the more I read about these people, I feel like I suspended reasonable thinking skills to follow this real-life soap opera.
I knew this was coming, but I was angry when I saw this. I kept hearing Harry on a call he did saying I will always be here as long as I am able. The royal family sucks. He did a lot for the sport, for both men and women and they loved him for it. They were going to try to have him involved in some way. This means it won’t be possible. Now they have Katie Keen who is going to Hyena laugh through things, get great seats for all the games and get “paid” for it while providing no real substance. Can’t wait to hear her opening speech at the beginning of the World Cup. Let’s see how many countries she can offend with this new patronage.
Has this been confirmed by either the palace or the rugby leagues? Maybe they are just testing the waters like what happened when William was going to take over Harry’s military patronages.
“ wanders around Norfolk, tending to rose bushes” 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I see what you did there
It looks like Edward and Sophie have assured they won’t get be awarded any patronages for a long time.
Tyndall was the better option, he knows the game, would be a great draw at fundraisers and as a father of two girls would support and promote girls access to play rugby. This is what comes of the narrow vision of a slim down monarchy.
In a democracy why can’t the organization say no, we no longer want a royal patronage. To the British readers, can an organization decline the patronage?
They are simply announcing this to make people forget that Kate has done literally nothing since attending the Euro final almost a month ago. Charles, Camilla, Anne, Sophie, Edward and the Queen have all done engagements in the last few weeks but the lazy Cambridges have hidden away in their separate refuges.
@Nin919
That is insane. I cannot believe/cannot understand how the Cambridges get away with not working for MONTHS AT A TIME. They are the biggest negative return on an investment I have ever seen, along with being horrible people.
IDK, keen hasn’t really done anything for 2 decades, no one seems to care. Except maybe the queen, she doesn’t seem to like her.
She was called out for the laziness until Meghan arrived, especially from 2014 on. That’s where duchess Doolittle showed up as a name.
Kate could bring George along or Charlotte in a lookalike outfit.
This was in the cards since the football debacle. The one-sided comparative competition that inevitable has no winner. As mentioned upthread, the organization did not want Harry replaced, and especially by William and observed that he was the patron for Welsh rugby. He really coveted that position. One of the main reasons that the Sussexes gave that interview was to explain to their patronages how it all concurred.
Kate’s mediocrity is apparent and well known. Neither of the Cambridges are really sociable nor skilled in the art of small-talk/informal chats. But here they are again, once more.
There’s a video of Harry -when ENG loss against SA- going backstage to congratulate the SA rugby players. Everyone was happy to see him and take pictures. That’s the kind of diplomacy you expect from a Patron that is representing not only you but also the country. William and Kate showen last month that they have no diplomacy and these events are more like an entertainment to them than “work”. I can already see all the Middleton klan hijacking this games, like they have done with Wimbledon. My condolences to the rugby league association for the sh*t show that awaits them.
I remember how long it took William to do more work. I did notice how his ‘patronages” were top heavy with sports related themes and how he would sit in the stands and even go to “after parties.”
Kate would never congratulate the opposing team. It’s sad but true.
The fact that the BRF has a flippin’ Rugby player in the family but gave the Rugby patronage to the art history major that didn’t know if they stopped making Faberage eggs…
is the perfect example of the BRF’s incompetence.
You don’t have to be an art major to know about Faberge eggs, just know how to google.
Eurydice- sure. Which makes it all the more bizarre an art major didn’t know.
@Rapunzel – weird, isn’t it? She’s figured out her favorite emojis, maybe google is next.
That’s pretty incredible. All it takes is the most basic knowledge of the Faberge eggs. No wonder she mumbles all the time now.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Rugby League for having Kate as their patron. That has to be awful to go from Harry ( who did SO much for them) to ……Kate.
Eh, they will probably not notice the difference between no patron and Keen. She will show up with a photographer one time and they won’t see her for a year.
UGH, that is my comment. UGH.
The Duke and Duchess’s engagements are said to have been scheduled around their children’s school timetables for the last few years, but a royal expert says they might have to take on more work in the future according to the Daily Mirror. Only 15 more years until Louis leaves school and then we get the parents full time- woohoo!
THen it will be they must take time off when they have grandchildren to help raise.
And yet they don’t have engagements scheduled during weekdays between the school run but only once, maybe twice per week.
Yikes, they went from having Harry as patron to this!!! I feel bad for them as they’ll be USED just like Wimbledon which has become an annual photoshoot for keen & her entourage. At least they can find comfort in knowing they’ll only have to suffer one hyena grin shoot per year😂
On a side note, I agree with a poster up the thread about these stories being a cover for their absence. Like Meghan said “I was everywhere yet nowhere” they use this trick to flood people’s minds with specific ideas (meaning; attention seeking Meghan vs dutiful mother/hard worker kate)😤